Fuelled by the aggressive play of Russell Westbrook, the Oklahoma City Thunder (41-30) laid waste to the lowly Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. The victory gave the Thunder some more breathing room in the eighth spot of the Western Conference standings, as they are now three games ahead of the trailing Phoenix Suns.
The Thunder can strengthen their playoff chances if they can defeat the San Antonio Spurs (44-26) later tonight. Read on for a full preview of this game. You can also click here for a breakdown of the Cavs vs. Grizzlies matchup.
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Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs Preview
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio
When: Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 9:30 PM ET
Line: Oklahoma City Thunder (+7.5) vs. San Antonio Spurs (-7.5); total: 214.0 – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder
With Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka out, it looks like Russell Westbrook has found a new partner in Enes Kanter.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Kanter put up mammoth numbers in Oklahoma City’s 127-117 win over the Lakers Tuesday night, scoring 25 points and hauling down 16 rebounds to extend his streak of double-doubles to six games. Kanter’s presence in the frontcourt has helped soften the blow of Ibaka’s absence due to a knee injury. His inside scoring and rebounding will be valuable assets for the Thunder, who’ll try to duplicate their 114-106 win over San Antonio on December 25.
In that game, Westbrook dropped 34 points—20 of which came inside the paint— and added 11 assists to lead the team to the victory. Aside from Westbrook’s exploits, the Thunder’s rebounding also keyed the win over the Spurs, as Steven Adams and crew outrebounded San Antonio, 47-38. Oklahoma City is the best rebounding team in the league, averaging 47.7 boards per game thus far this season.
Westbrook, who put up 27 points and dished out 11 assists in the Lakers game, has been playing out of his mind this month. In 11 games played this March, the UCLA-product has averaged 31.5 points, 11.2 assists, and 8.9 rebounds per contest.
Dion Waiters has also been producing nicely of late. Waiters is averaging 16.8 points per game on 50 percent shooting during the Thunder’s current four-game win streak.
The Thunder are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games overall.
San Antonio found no answer to Monta Ellis, as the Spurs suffered a 101-94 loss against Dallas Tuesday night. Kawhi Leonard led San Antonio with 19 points but got little help from his teammates. Danny Green finished with 17 points, while Tim Duncan and Tony Parker only had six and eight points, respectively.
Ellis sizzled for 38 points, and his performance served as a stern warning for San Antonio, which will have to deal with another spitfire guard in Russell Westbrook. As mentioned, Westbrook did most of the damage in the previous meeting with San Antonio inside the paint, where the Spurs are allowing opposing teams to score 43.6 points over their past five games. The Spurs can’t afford to leave open driving lanes, which Westbrook will not hesitate to penetrate every chance he gets.
Expect Leonard to be Gregg Popovich’s primary weapon in stopping the Thunder guard. Leonard is averaging 17.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.3 steals over San Antonio’s last five games.
San Antonio’s bench is among the highest scoring in the league, contributing 40.3 points per game. In the December meeting with the Thunder, the second unit of Aron Baynes, Matt Bonner, Cory Joseph, and Manu Ginobili combined to score 48 bench points. Look for the Spurs to once again take advantage of their deep roster against the Thunder that gets just 34.9 points per game from their relievers.
Ginobili’s return will only strengthen that second unit. He played against Dallas after a three-game absence due to an ankle injury and scored just seven points in 16 minutes of action off the bench. Ginobili is averaging 11.4 points per game this season.
The Spurs are 3-1 SU/ATS in their last four home games against OKC.
